GenX Compound Now Detected In Food Product In North Carolina

An unregulated compound has been found in more than 80 wells near a chemical company's manufacturing facility in North Carolina. And now GenX has been detected in a food product for the first time.

Honey collected by a Robeson County farmer was tested for levels of the potentially harmful GenX compound, the StarNews of Wilmington reported. Those levels were found to be nearly 15 times higher than the health goal set by state officials. The farm is southwest of the Chemours Co. plant.

The director of the state Department of Environmental Quality's division of waste management, Michael Scott, told the state Secretaries' Science Advisory Board on Monday that the farmer doesn't sell the honey.

Officials are unsure if the viscosity of honey could have affected the test results, and have asked the Environmental Protection Agency for guidance.

Last week Chemours lost its permit to discharge wastewater into the Cape Fear River. The chemical has been detected in 85 wells near the company's plant in Bladen County.